Tonights Game v Catalans Dragons

[morley pie eater]

The end of the world is nigh

[Dreamteam]

Anyone who went to the cas game could of told you that not conceding was the biggest miracle since Powell scored that try vs wakey. I know the pitch is small but watching our pack get railed by a bunch of cas lads bordering on retirement was genuinely embarrassing. The DW pitch suits our expansive rugby so I wouldn’t be surprised if we only lose 1 more game at home for the rest of the season but when we go to Leeds kr again wire ect we’ll drop points

[Charriots Offiah]

Our forwards are dominated every week. And we’ve not earned the lesson from last season. IMO Catalan are ok but not great and I don’t think they will make the top 4 and neither will we. At the beginning of the season MP said he was happy with his squad, to me that was a concern especially as we had lost Bateman from a pack which was not good enough in the first place.

So MP needs to deliver with what he’s. got. We’re in this position dare I say it because of poor recruitment and extensions everybody knows it except KR. Our overseas signings field and french apart have been poor compared to other teams. If you get it right you probably need 1 or 2 signings each season just to freshen things up a bit. Whereas last season and this we’ve got 6 or 7 to sort out. Probably just as well because we need a massive clear out. We invest a lot in youth but at the moment teams like Huddersfield, Leeds and Warrington are benefiting. Again poor management. Until this improves no chance of a GF win.

The truth hurts and you have just stated it Graham.

Not sure they are "dominated every week"? You mean every week we play someone good?

If you think that we have a good pack Mike then that is fine, personally I think we are poor. We are talking about Wigan and we should be far better. Like it, or not, the Club has made some bad decisions when it comes to recruitment and retention. We will be good on a dry track because our backs will work wonders, when the wet weather returns we will fade away. We have not learned any lessons from last season.

[Charriots Offiah]

I think there a pretty big OTT reaction to that defeat last night.

I'd agree. After last weeks win at Cas, representing a 96-0 scoreline in two matches, there were - wait for it - a big fat zero posts about the game. After this weeks loss, we're up to 12 pages and counting, and I think I've heard that pretty much every player except Field, French and Marshall need to be shipped out right now (and those players won't be long for the chop either)!

Wiganers are slow to praise (or at least to express moderate satisfaction given the ease of the task) and very quick to moan.

The above opinion is based on these observations and doesn't mean I disagree with all the criticism of the side, however I await the posts saying its not allowed to criticize and I'm a happy clapper etc.

I personally am more interested in our form going into the last 10 games of the season, and I think there is a lot of potential for improvement between now and then. I think our squad has a good balance between attacking threat and defensive solidity, with scope for the coaching staff to tweak that because we have the options now. We do perhaps have a lack of impact in the forwards, but Wane managed multiple GFs without a dominant prop, so that should be manageable. I'm still in wait and see mode.

What options? We will not win the GF unless there is a change in personnel. The CC is a possibility though.

[Charriots Offiah]

No I mean we are dominated every week. HKR forwards outplayed ours . And in the first half against Cas we couldn’t get out our half. Our away form last year was poor because our pack was always well beaten. Not many teams are going to lie down like Wakefield.

Last year we relied heavily on french and field to win majority of our games. But they are going to marked men this year which means we are going to be in for a tough year. I Don’t think the comments on here are an over reaction. The displays against HKR and Catalan were a disgrace.

And it won’t get any easier at Huddersfield.

Forwards win matches and this group just aren’t good enough. Wait until we see the yardage statistics. Three overseas players in our pack and they are bang average.

[Mike]

I think there a pretty big OTT reaction to that defeat last night.

I'd agree. After last weeks win at Cas, representing a 96-0 scoreline in two matches, there were - wait for it - a big fat zero posts about the game. After this weeks loss, we're up to 12 pages and counting, and I think I've heard that pretty much every player except Field, French and Marshall need to be shipped out right now (and those players won't be long for the chop either)!

Wiganers are slow to praise (or at least to express moderate satisfaction given the ease of the task) and very quick to moan.

The above opinion is based on these observations and doesn't mean I disagree with all the criticism of the side, however I await the posts saying its not allowed to criticize and I'm a happy clapper etc.

I personally am more interested in our form going into the last 10 games of the season, and I think there is a lot of potential for improvement between now and then. I think our squad has a good balance between attacking threat and defensive solidity, with scope for the coaching staff to tweak that because we have the options now. We do perhaps have a lack of impact in the forwards, but Wane managed multiple GFs without a dominant prop, so that should be manageable. I'm still in wait and see mode.

What options? We will not win the GF unless there is a change in personnel. The CC is a possibility though.

Well. Cust is "better at 9" so we could play him there, or a younger less experienced junior to change the dynamic at the ruck if we wanted to. We have options to replace Cust at stand off in French, field or Hampshire without reaching too far out of player positions.

We can change our second row dynamic between attacking threat with KPP and more solid experience with Isa which we've already done, having strated with KPP this year but had to balance the side with Isa from then on. We also have some youngsters in the wings.

If rotating the middles doesn't lead to improved form, We can use mid season moves to tweak our forward personnel. Miski is out on loan and a negotiated release is definitely possible there, which give us potential scope to upgrade one of the middles overseas.

Overall I'd say our back line has the potential to be one of the best we've seen in a long while and the forwards aren't bad. We've definitely strengthened the.middles in recent years perhaps at the cost of the second row, but I'm not a big believer in Bateman being a big loss this time round. We had a ridiculous number of second/back towers that were being played as middles in past years and I think the balance is better now. Do we have that dominant prop? No. But how many teams do? Saints certainly, but is that a requirement to win. I'd say our squad stands up pretty well to theirs and it's up to the coaching team to get the best out of them this year, that's where my concerns lie right now. Can they do it?

BTW. I remember the fans around me on the kop in the golden years when I was a kid. We were rubbish then. Edwards should be got rid. They're not trying. Not much praise, lots of moaning. I imagine if social media had existed then it would look much like it does now when we lost that odd time.

[archiekeith]

[Suzieb]

That was another good move loaning shorrocks to Leigh and keeping kpp

[Wintergreen]

The end of the world is nigh

Are you related to that old chap who used to parade in front of Central Park?

[morley pie eater]

The end of the world is nigh

Are you related to that old chap who used to parade in front of Central Park?

I remember him well